Improved exercising-machine



PATENT OFFICE.

J. S. BROWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

lM-PROV-ED EXERGlSlNG-MACHINE.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,028, dated March 31, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. S. BROWN, of the State, city, and county of New York, have invented an Improved Baby-Tending Machine;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference bein gha-d to the accompanying drawings, which forma part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a front elevation showing the chair or couch in side view. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the chair or couch in end view. Fig. 3 shows the chair detached. Fig. 4 shows the table of chair, top view.

My said improved machine or apparatus is susceptible ot' many variations of form and construction, but is comprised, in general, of the following` parts or elements-viz., a chair or couch, a lever, and an adjustable spring, which three constitute the main operative or moving mechanism, and the whole sustained by or upon a competent frame.

My invention relates, also, to certain principles or modes of construction of the parts of the apparatus with reference to their operation, use, and management, substantially as hereinafter described.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction and method of using the same.

Referring to the annexed drawings, wherein the marks of reference correspond in all the figures, A is a platform, constructed in any suitable shape or manner, and has a pedestal or post, B, rmly iiXed thereto by a bolt and nut, (seen dotted in Fig. 2,) or otherwise, said platform and pedestal constituting a frame for sustaining the chair or couch and its associa-te mechanism, as hereinafter specified. The pedestal B carries at its top a lever, C. Said lever is provided with trunnions l, which rest in suitable clevises or bearings xed to the top of the pedestal. A spring, D, is attached to the lever near one end thereof, and a loop, 2, is slipped over the other end and has a spindle, 3, which passes down through the end of a bar, et, and turns freely therein. Said bar is nicely fitted to slide in a staple, 5, iixed to or forming part of a bail or bow, E. The bailE is usually made of metal and ot' a proper width to admit the chair or couch F and embrace the same snugly between the sides thereof. The ends of the bail are bent inward to form hooks 6, and said bail has also two small teats or protuberances, 7, one on each leg of the bail. Said hooks and teats, when the bai] is attached to the chair, enter suitable holes or depressions 8 (Fig. 3) in the edges and arms of the chair. These devices 6,7, and 8, furnish in connection with the yielding character of the bail a ready means of detaching the cha-ir when it is desired to use it in any other than the pendent situation exhibited in Figs. 1 and 2. The chair has a table, G, and a back, H, both of which are adjustable in position--the former so that it may be dropped down even with the seat of the chair, and the latter so that it may be raised or lowered to diierent degrees ofV inclination or brought near to and away from the front of the seat.

The means usually employed for the purposes of adjustment of the back and table, as above, consists of suitable pins and braces, cords, 85o., and are generally attached to said table and back and connected with proper holes for the purpose in the rounds and arms of the chair. One of the pins, K, ofthe table is removable, and the other, K', is iixed in the table. The back has a slot, L, on each side, and, for slight inclinations, the pins are inserted therein from the outside, through holes in the arms of the chair; but when the back is to be let down to form a couch,the pins are inserted in holes in the back near the ends of the slot L, and the back is held up by cords 9, attached to said pins and to the rounds or arms. Other adjustments may be made at different angles by taking a turn or two with the cords around the arms or rounds. The back has short rods or braces 10, which are sprung into any of the series ot holes near the seat.

The full lines in Fig. 1 show the adjustment generally used for purposes of a couch.

The child when occupying the chair, when in the pendent situation, desires to turn the chair about. To permit this is the design ofthe spindle 3 or swivel, before specified. The chair being free to revolve allows the .child to turn readily while in it by using its feet on the platform. It is also desirable on certain occasions to cant up the chair at an inclination from the horizontal. The slidingbartfun nishes the means of so tilting up the chair or seat, and it is done by sliding the bail and its staple 5 along the said bar. This varies the relative position of the center of gravity in the chair or couch and gives it the inclination required by throwing the bail out of the perpendicular.

When the chair is to be removed from the pendent position, thelegs of the bail are sprung apart so as to withdraw the hook and teat of one side or leg, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the chair may then be taken out and placed on the iioor for a low chair, as seen in Fig. 3, or it may be placed on an ordinary chair and used thus as a high chair, Ste. A strap, J, is made fast to the seat and passes through a guide or suitable fastening on the under side ot' the table. This prevents the child lfrom slipping out of the chair, either by accident or design.

For persons of different weight some means of adjustment are necessary in order to bring the chair to the proper height from the platform and to provide for the elasticity adapted to a given weight. This adjustment is eiected by several holes in the strap N, taking over a s nall peg, 12, in the frame, and by aseries of notches in the lever G, the notches varying the elasticity and the peg and strap the height. The chair has an openingin the seat,

and may be used as a nursery-chair by placing the chamber on the platform, and, with the strap and peg 12, so adjusting the height of the chair that the latter shall rest gently on said chamber. The weight of the chair and child, in connection with the attachment above to the lever C, holds the whole quite steady.

The motion of the chair is usually produced by the child itself, when placed in a sitting posture, by a slight pressure of the feet on the platform, but may also be imparted by an attendant by means of a pedal, M, attached to the lever by a cord, 13. The strain on the lever, when the toe of the pedal is depressed, corresponds with that exerted by the contractile power of the spring, thereby requiring only a nominal exertion of the operator and giving more freedom of motion to the chair or couch than obtains where the pedal is arranged to act against the force of the spring, as heretofore done.

In the above invention I do not confine myself to the construction, form, arrangement, and combination of the parts precisely as set forth, but shall vary and modify the same as circumstances and occasion require, always, however, retaining substantially the features specified.

What I claim as new, and as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The employment of a competent frame, consisting ofthe platform and pedestal, or their equivalent, sustaining a vibrating lever, as set forth, to one end of which lever is attached the chair or couch, and the other end of which is connected with a spring, also attached to the aforesaid frame, the combination being substantially as described.

2. In the above apparatus, the notches in the lever, by which the active power or elasticity of the spring is varied at will, as and for the purpose specified, and the perforated strap N and pin 12, or their equivalent, to vary the height of the chair from the platform, for the purpose set forth.

3. The loop 2, bar 4, spindle 5, and bail or bow E, arranged and connected with the lever and with the chair or couch, as and for the several purposes specified.

4. The specific method of arranging the pedal'with respect to and of combining the same with the lever and the spring, so as to operate in connection therewith, for the purpose, in the manner, and Wit 1t spe cied.

J. S. BROWN.

Witnesses:

J AMES IRVINE, E. HARRY SMITH. 

